Taxi driver dilemma

[jmsunlinenet]

I've been using a taxi driver in Puerto Plata for almost a year. At first he said "pay me whatever you want at the end of the week" and I gave him a small amount, but later found I was using him more and told him he needed to give me a hard and fast price and we reached an agreement on a fixed sum per week for transportation within Puerto Plata, then I would pay him an additional fuel surcharge for any voyages further away. I also paid him for a few trips to Santiago airport.

I speak fairly good Spanish, but don't always understand what he is saying as he speaks with a strong dialect and is not very well educated. (I don't think he can read.)

Recently he communicated via an intermediary that possibly I did not understand the ways of the Dominican Republic, but that it was customary to pay double at Christmas.

He has been a pretty reliable resource and I don't mind giving him extra at Christmas, but the intermediary also suggested that the double pay was only normal for employees, and that possibly he regarded himself as an employee, which could cause problems at such time as I no longer need his services.

Obviously (I think) I don't regard him as an employee and the arrangement is not exclusive on either side. That is he carries other passengers when he can get them and I use other taxis or motoconchos when he is not available.

Is there any risk that by giving him something extra at Christmas, this might give him grounds to think this is an employee/employer relationship? Is there any precedent for a regular taxi driver being considered to be an employee?

I would appreciate any input from anyone who has experience regarding the Xmas bonus and any claims of employee rights.

 

[Givadogahome]

He is your taxi driver, nothing more. Pay him per trip and keep it simple, you complicated this by beginning a negotiation of a weekly salary. You owe him nothing as he is not your employee, but whether he understands this is another thing, he probably has never been employed before and so doesn't know what he is talking about or doing. Many idiots consider a spoken word as contract if it benefits them, and will go to extreme lengths to recover relatively little.
Separate ties, find another cab driver, and keep it on a normal pay per trip basis. There is no shortage of taxis, nor are there any shortage of idiots willing to ruin your day or Xmas because you have done bad by them, at least in their eyes.
Pay him double, then you ensure in his mind he is an employee. Be done with him and avoid any drama over the festive season.

 

[pollogringo]

He is not your employee. You are not obliged to give him extra at Christmas. Unfortunately, he's being a typical short-sighted "businessman", perdiendo lo m?s por lo menos. Instead of simply appreciating your continued patronage, he's putting it in jeopardy for peanuts.

 

[rsg]

If he is honest and charges you a fair price why not just throw him a christmas gift and clarify with him that he is not your employee. If he agrees with you then you will be better off in the future paying him on a per trip basis.

 

[Givadogahome]

He has already proven he isn't honest, he knows he isn't due anything in reality, what is due and what he can get away with are two separate things. He has broken the bond by trying to have one over on him, he doesn't deserve to be used again. If you allow people to try this kind of st1t they will keep on until you have to fall out to get rid. I learned a log time ago never to give anyone a second chance in DR, and it has led to a much more peaceful life than when normal every day (elsewhere) rules applied.

 

[jmsunlinenet]

"Pay him per trip and keep it simple, you complicated this by beginning a negotiation of a weekly salary."

Thanks for the reply. I have never regarded it as a salary, but more a discounted rate for taxi travel. I don't think it is unknown in the DR, because taxi drivers charge monthly fees for bringing school students to and from school in shared taxis, and obviously this does not imply any kind of employment. The amount I pay him includes a supplement for taking a child to school and back on school days. Such arrangements are difficult to operate if you pay cash for each part of a journey, one reason being that the exact cash and necessary change are not always available.

 

[jmsunlinenet]

Duplicate message deleted.

 

[jmsunlinenet]

Duplicate post deleted.

 

[jmsunlinenet]

"If he is honest and charges you a fair price why not just throw him a Christmas gift and clarify with him that he is not your employee. If he agrees with you then you will be better off in the future paying him on a per trip basis."

Well, that's it. One has to balance various alternatives such as buying or renting a car and dealing with the added stress of DR driving, repairs, maintenance, depreciation, theft of car batteries, etc. versus using a taxi and other public transportation and the cost/benefit factor is obviously a key consideration. Let's say I find the weekly rate manageable and from his point of view he knows he gets something every Saturday.

The first part of this suggestion is what I had in mind already. The second part seem to be easier said than done and would probably result in more complications as some journeys involve multiple destinations, pick ups and drop offs. I think it would end up costing me more too.

However my original question was mainly about any possibility of an employee/employer relationship existing, which seems to have been laid to rest.

 

[Givadogahome]

You did not mention this in your original post. If he is responsible for the safety of your child to and from school then I do consider he is due a little something at Xmas. But not because he has asked for it, but because it should really go without saying on your behalf. So infact the arrangement is very different to what was first described.
Now whether I would put the safety of my child in the hands of a guy that you didn't paint such a greatly intelligent picture of is another thing, but that is your decision.
You still don't owe him anything, as he is not your employee, but you have a general obligation to be nice to those who you entrust with your childrens safety, to me it is just common decency.

Still, from what you say, I would cut ties and start again with someone else, it doesn't sound like there is the trust there I would require for this duty.

 

[jmsunlinenet]

You did not mention this in your original post. If he is responsible for the safety of your child to and from school then I do consider he is due a little something at Xmas. But not because he has asked for it, but because it should really go without saying on your behalf. So infact the arrangement is very different to what was first described.
Now whether I would put the safety of my child in the hands of a guy that you didn't paint such a greatly intelligent picture of is another thing, but that is your decision.
You still don't owe him anything, as he is not your employee, but you have a general obligation to be nice to those who you entrust with your childrens safety, to me it is just common decency.

Still, from what you say, I would cut ties and start again with someone else, it doesn't sound like there is the trust there I would require for this duty.

I always go with her to and from the school as she is only 4 and I don't want her bringing home any strange men. However he is good with the child. My issue in my original post was always about whether giving him something for Christmas could create some kind of entitlement to separation payment some time down the road. (This is the LEGAL forum.)

 

[Conchman]

Always be wary of wishy-washy agreements with Dominicans - if its vague, it will get abused at some point, or in one way or another. Just from my experience. Just pay for each ride, you are opening up a pandora's box of problems where he might claim that he is your employee or he may say you owe him a bunch of money when you try to break off 'the agreement.'

 

[pollogringo]

It could get complicated. Giving the bonus could reinforce the concept(be it erroneous or not) in the taxista's mind that they're in your employ. It's not about generosity. It's about clarification where a line's becoming blurred.

 

[william webster]

2 cents here

I think the arrangement smells contractual....
repeated payments of the same amount
repeated trips

I would be wary.

If it is contractual, or quasi contractual, youn are already in the abyss and obligated for the doble salario - which most of us paid today.

Are you happy w/ this relationship?
Want to change it? Be careful, might be contractual



The devil you know, is better than the devil you don't know.

 

[Hillbilly]

This could, as you are thinking, get really messy.
If he were to go to labor court and swear that he has been earning x amount of pesos per week from you (whatever sum he says--it does not necessarily have to be true!) you will be brought before the court and told to pay x times x plus penalties and court costs...

You need to settle this and quickly.

Talk to a labor lawyer regarding this, since the guy does have his hooks into you. If you can afford it, hire him to take the child to school...but get a lawyer for this..


HB

 

[william webster]

THe more I think about this.....

Err on the side of caution

 

[jmsunlinenet]

Thanks for everyone's interesting contributions. I spoke to the taxi driver about the matter this morning and he avowed emphatically that he is NOT my employee, but that it is customary when people use a service to give the provider a "propina" at Christmas.

Actually this was consistent with my first impression, before another person suggested that he might be thinking in terms of employee compensation. In the UK the day after Christmas--December 26th--is a holiday known as Boxing Day, on which it is traditional to give Christmas Boxes (usually a gift of cash) to service people such as the mailman, milkman, and other people who regularly deliver services to the home. It would not particularly surprise me if the DR, being something of a European based culture has a similar custom, even if it is not well-known to posters here. It would certainly not be inconsistent with employees also receiving an extra month's salary at this time of the year.

 

[william webster]

Reading this, if I were you, I would feel comfortable going forward.

December is a big payday here in RD.

The earlier words of caution stem from the fact that RD is very pro-labour. Most legal disputes settle in favour of the employee.

Feliz Navidad

 

[Mauricio]

This reminds me of the security guy at Scotiabank in Nunez de Caceres. After office hours I go to take out some cash, a guy gets out the cash machine room and the watchman asks him something, the looks bothered at him and gets in his car. I get in, get my cash and when I get out he tells me: 'no se olvide de la Navidad del Wachi!'.

I asked him if he doesn't get his double salary from the company he's working for. He says he does. I told him not to ask me then and that he has to be careful cause if I tell the bank manager he asking money from people just getting cash out of the teller he might not have a job anymore.

I know that wasn't nice to say, but there are some boundaries (I know, not here)

 

[Castle]

when I get out he tells me: 'no se olvide de la Navidad del Wachi!'.

I asked him if he doesn't get his double salary from the company he's working for. He says he does. I told him not to ask me then and that he has to be careful cause if I tell the bank manager he asking money from people just getting cash out of the teller he might not have a job anymore.

Well, there are two reasons I wouldn't have said that, although I understand why you said it.
The first reason is I always try to be nice to a dominican guy holding a shotgun. Far too many guachis have gone nuts at work.
The second reason is, I never argue with three kind of workers: Watchmen and Waiters/waitresses. I won't tell the third kind, don't insist.